New year, new decade, new you! Really? By this time almost everyone has given up on their New Year’s resolutions. What are the top three things that will make you “new?” Have you taken the time to write down your three key newness indicators? Have you figured out the path to the new you? If you answered no to any of these questions, don’t worry. That’s what I’m here for. I’m going to share with you the steps to mastering goal achieving.
Where Are You Going? How Will You Get There?
Now, before you start, it is important to break down your goals into 3 bite-size chunks or 3 key newness indicators. These indicators are your destinations. Goal achieving is like taking a road trip. If you’re taking a long road trip you typically have to determine a couple of things,
- Where am I starting from?
- Where am I going?
- What stops (steps) must you make on the #journey?
The required stops (steps) are absolutely determined by how far you have to travel to get to your destination (goal). This means some of your destinations may require one stop, others two stops, some no stops at all. (If your goal has no stops it’s not big enough. But, I digress.) The key is to figure out how to successfully get from one stop to the next stop.
If your goal for this year is to buy a house, the first step is to determine where you are right now and where you want to be. Are you willing to stay where you are or would you like to buy a house in a completely different city, different neighborhood, different state, a different country? Secondly, what are the requirements to get from where you are to your new home? Will you sell your current home? Have you determined how much you would like to spend on your new house? Will your current financial situation withstand the expense of owning the new home? Lastly, it’s time to find the right neighborhood, the right house, with the right floor plan, and the best yard you’ve ever had.
Create a Roadmap to Success
You’ll notice that we’ve taken one goal, buying a house, and broke that down into three smaller goals. Additionally, we took those 3 goals and broke those down into 3 bite-size pieces. It is for this reason that these are the keys to goal achieving. Not as challenging as we sometimes believe, right? However, it’s not as simple as we often make it. Just saying, “I want a better home,” is setting a goal. However, to say, “I want to live in a downtown Dallas, Texas high-rise that is 1,200 sq. ft. with a great view of the timeline is goal achieving. Notice the difference? One is vague. The other is so specific that you can envision it.
Specific goals build a roadmap to success. If you’ve written your goals for 2020 and they don’t create an image in your mind, and the mind of others who read them, there’s more work to be done. The question is, do you desire to set your goals or achieve them? If achieving your goals is what’s most important then be sure to make them specific and measurable. If you want to take it to the next level of success, add a date that’s your target deadline. Lastly, ensure that they are achievable and most importantly realistic.
This is Your Time
Know that this year is your year. And as cliché as that may sound, it is your year when you set goals that offer you a roadmap to your desired destination. If you’re an overachiever like me, use the steps you’ve determined are necessary to get you to your goal to create your vision board. Add a picture of the outdoor space that was so amazing that you couldn’t resist tearing the page out of the magazine at the doctor’s office. Perhaps it’s that shiny new car you’ve been drifting away from your work to surf the internet for pictures of.
You can start writing your plans now, but you may want to download your free copy of my new e-book, Go for the Goal, first to discover the 7 areas of life for goal setting. These are the steps I’ve repeatedly used to earn 6 college degrees, start and build 3 businesses, and raise a son who is closely following in my footsteps. And if I’m being honest, he will probably achieve much more than what I’ve been able to accomplish in my lifetime.
Go forth ladies, win the year, nurture the newness that is you, give your greatness to the world, and leave your imprint on the decade.
>READ: HAVE YOUR BEST YEAR YET BY RETHINKING YOUR GOAL SETTING
